California power outage: What happens when the lights go out

FILE – In this Oct. 14, 2017, file photo, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. crews work on restoring power lines in a fire ravaged neighborhood in an aerial view in the aftermath of a wildfire in Santa Rosa, Calif. PG&E says it will begin turning off power to 800,000 customers in 34 counties starting after midnight Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses went out early Wednesday, affecting millions of people in California.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said a forecast of extreme wind and dry weather has created fire danger of an unprecedented scope, prompting it to initiate the largest preventive outage in state history to reduce the risk of wildfires sparked by faulty power lines.

Here are some questions and answers about the outage .

WHO IS AFFECTED?

PG&E said it will turn off power to 800,000 customers — that means about 2 million people — in 34 counties in northern, central and coastal California. In Southern California, SoCal Edison warned that it might shut off power to more than 100,000 customers in eight counties as high winds are expected to hit the region Thursday.

The city of San Francisco isn’t covered by PG&E’s shutoffs. But much of the surrounding Bay Area and beyond is expected to go dark, including large swaths of Silicon Valley, the cities of Oakland and Berkeley and much of the Northern California wine country hit by wildfires that killed 44 two years ago. The outage also affects parts of the agricultural Central Valley, the state’s northern and central coasts and the Sierra Nevada foothills where a November wildfire blamed on PG&E transmission lines killed 85 people and devastated the town of Paradise.

HOW DO CALIFORNIANS KNOW IF THEIR POWER IS GOING OFF?

PG&E said it was informing customers by text and email about where and when power would be cut. But its website, where it directed people to check whether their addresses would be affected, wasn’t working most of the day Tuesday and Wednesday morning after being overloaded with visitors. Local police departments and city and county officials were also sending auto-text and phone alerts as part of a system that local authorities urged residents to sign up for after last year’s devastating wildfires.

WHAT ABOUT SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS?

Thousands of students were getting the day off Wednesday, and possibly Thursday, as school districts across Northern California announced plans to cancel classes. Some school districts in the power outage area, like Berkeley, said they planned to stay open Wednesday but told parents to stay tuned. The University of California, Berkeley, Sonoma State University and Mills College canceled classes Wednesday.

While critical emergency city and county services were expected to operate, residents were urged to call ahead about routine office hours as many may be closed. Hospitals have backup generators and could stay open, along with all emergency services. Cellphone companies have said most cellphones should work as long as they’re charged.

HOW ARE CITIES PREPARING?

Public agencies throughout the region urged people to stock up on bottled water and non-perishable food, fill their gas tanks, charge their phones and have cash at hand. People who need powered medical equipment or refrigerated medicines were urged to contact their providers. Authorities reminded people to park their vehicles outside garages or make sure they know how to manually open their garage doors. People also were warned to drive slowly and carefully because traffic lights could be out and roads closed.

Following the 2018 Camp Fire that killed 85 last November, the California Public Utilities Commission ordered utilities to file new wildfire mitigation plans. Pacific Gas & Electric’s new plan included dramatic increases in vegetation management and inspections. It proposed replacing bare overhead high-voltage wires with insulation to help prevent power lines sparking fires, replacing wood poles with less flammable material and possibly moving some overhead power lines underground, which PG&E has estimated would cost $3 million per mile.

IS THERE ANYWHERE TO GO?

PG&E said it was opening more than 30 community resource centers to provide restrooms, electronic-device charging stations, bottled water and air-conditioned seating for up to 100 people. But the centers will only be open during daylight hours and most counties only have one.

HOW LONG WILL THE POWER BE OUT?

PG&E has estimated the power could be out for as long as five days. The company said it can’t switch the power back on until its equipment is inspected for damage and repaired.

WILL ANYONE PAY ME FOR MY SPOILED FOOD?

You may be able to file a claim with your insurance company if it’s worth the deductible. But PG&E says don’t bother trying to file a claim with the utility. The company doesn’t reimburse customers for losses when the power is turned off for safety.

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